Middling-size chunk of concrete from the interstate + Front passenger rim x penned in on all sides by traffic / approx. 75mph = Suck.

That was my math lesson for the trip home yesterday. I made it to within 2 hours of Pittsburgh when I ate the concrete. Drove for about 20 miles with some wheel shake and pedal feedback, so I knew that I damaged it, but wasn't all that concerned as I had already bent that rim on another, previous chunk of crap in the road and was thus planning on replacing it, anyway. Happened to take a look when I stopped at a rest area and could thereafter not (in good conscience) continue to drive on it. So I had the car towed to a Sears, had to send for my mother to come pick me up, have a wheel over-nighted from TireRack and now have to meander back to WVA to pick up the car once it's all better.

BLAH.

This is the 3rd ASA that I've buried as a result of potholes / road debris. And those are just the ones resulting from unavoidable obstacles. My next purchase will be a full set of MINI wheels, as I'm way over replacing these suckers and my OEM wheels had a much better track record.

 

Ouch. But I guess it could have been the oil pan.

 

Sucks. 17s?

 

Yikes, Toasty!! Are those tires runflats?? In the other thread you mentioned that the tire didn't deflate, but that seems almost impossible from looking at those pics.

 

Oh no!!! Very glad you are okay. Road debris makes me !!

 

That's true -- it could've been an oil pan. There really IS a bright side

Yep, they're 17's, runflats, and -- shockingly -- no, they didn't lose pressure. No tire monitor warning, and the guy at sears confirmed that the tire was undamaged, still beaded and suffering no major pressure loss that he could tell (he was without a baseline pressure, of course). So I suppose it's possible that it's slowly leaking, but I'm AMAZED that it didn't just blow off. Especially continuing to drive on it. It um . . . lent a girl a false sense of security, thinking maybe I could just motor on home

But too many people called me an idiot to make that seem like a good idea, really. Including my mother, her boss, my uncle (a mechanic), Leif, Rest Stop Guy, and Tow Guy.

I am hoping that my tire will get to the shop early and that I'll be able to rescue my poor car from the gaping maw of Bridgeport, West Virginia tomorrow.

 

wow. i have those wheels on my legacywgn.

now i know what i could look like.

glad to hear you weren't hurt, OmToast!

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that yours would at least be clean at the point of their failure . . .

 

Let this be a lesson to all of us. Driving 20 miles on that rim was dangerous to say the least. If anyone clobbers something hard in the highway, stop get out & have a look at what damage was caused. Om you were lucky you weren't toasted.

Your experience just reinforces my distaste for wheels with no sidewalls. I run 16" ASA JH6 wheels with 205/50/16 tires & haven't had any problems in 40,000 miles of driving.

 

Is it a failure of the ASAs or your failure to steer around debris? I opened this thread expecting to see a rim failure...

 

+1 Considering I have 18" ASA's w/o any issues especially considering some of the roads in the Bay.

 

Well, if you guys have any suggestions about steering around debris when you are penned in by cars fore, aft and on your left, with a minimal shoulder then feel free to post them / cast aspersions. Because I do a very reasonable job of steering around things when possible. This, however, was not one of those times. And I'm not going to to go out of my way and risk my safety and the safety of those around me on a busy interstate just to avoid road debris. If I can move, I do. If I can't, safely, then I can't. I certainly wasn't going to straddle it.

I do rather a lot of interstate/highway driving and steering around is not always an option, though I'm exceedingly pleased to hear that it is for some people in some situations.

 

I had 18" ASA ar1's and i also bent one only after a month of useage on the GW bridege in NYC

 

OmToast, I realize there are times when you just say Oh Carp & hit what you can't avoid. My point wasn't about you hitting something, stuff happens. It was about driving 20 miles on an unsafe rim that you didn't bother to check. That move risked your safety & risked the safety of the others on the road with you.

Just my .02 here, motor on.

 

It's not just ASA's. I lost an OZ Superleggera to a pot hole on a Cali interstate. Broke the lip right off the wheel. This was back when they were close to $400 ea.
I'm happy nothing else on the Mini went. Could easily have bent a suspension component or something else at that speed and force.

 

I know -- my comments weren't directed at you. And I completely agree: I should have stopped and checked. I didn't because the feedback/shake wasn't all that bad, but that's not an excuse given what I *knew* I hit. I can say that I had *no idea* it was as bad as it was, but for anyone else in a similar situation, I emphatically suggest they pull over and check

My comments were directed toward those who insinuated that I should have avoided it. While that would have been optimal, it was also unrealistic given traffic conditions.

 

OmToast no one can know what could or couldn't be avoided. Only you do & I understand & believe you. I wouldn't cause a wreck either to avoid road debris. I think any wheel that took that hit would have suffered a similar fate, be it a stock one or aftermarket. Maybe not be bent as bad, but ruined for sure. That was a big hit.

My reasoning for going with a 16" wheel package is two fold, a smoother ride & more of a sidewall to protect the rim in case of a big hit. From the looks of your rim my 16 would have been ruined also.

 

Their Chamber of Commerce really should pick up on this!!

 

The tow company that came was owned by the mayor of Clarksburg -- it was his son driving the truck. Perhaps if Bridgeport passes, C'burg can nab it!

Thanks, Crash

 

Busted TWO Volk Challenge running over the same pothole on a single lane exit ramp, I had the 10th set imported into the US, worked out to $600 each at the time. Potholes are non-discriminating denters.

 

Sorry to hear about and see your rim damaged.

I am very very very careful about hitting road debris and any potholes but I have done my share about being surprised and getting nailed anyway.

Usually it happens when I let a friend drive my MINI. or when the weather is bad, rainy, at night and on unfamiliar roads.

Even the smallest of uneven surfaces can cause a loud thud on my 17" wheels given my suspension.

For daily use I have 175/65-15 stock tires and that helps a lot.

I have never damaged any rim or tire by hitting a pothole. The faster you are going the more likely you can hit with enough force to cause big damage.

 

My comments were not centered around your ability or inability to avoid road debris but rather your choice of words for the subject title. The ASAs didn't fail at all, yet your subject states it did. Now someone doing a search on ASA AR1s will see your post title and think something was wrong with the rim when in fact, there was nothing wrong with the rim. Ya done good by not swerving and taking the hit :(

Several years ago, it was late ~9-10PM. I was on this 4 lane road (called Roosevelt blvd, in North East Phila, PA). I was going about 60mph, there was a car to my right about even with me. Out of no where, a horse (yes a HORSE) was in the left part of my lane. It was spooked. It was dark so I didn't see it until I was up on it. I jerked the wheel ever so slightly, just barely missing the horse and barely missing the car next to me.

It was so close, the driver pulled up next to me and gave me the thumbs up for what I had just avoided. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen on the road. It looks as though the horse may have been a mounted police horse that was being uncooperative.

THAT was a night to remember. I'm sure horses don't bounce too well off your hood/bumper. I would have taken its legs out from under it and then it would have taken me out for sure.

It was one of the most surreal events in my life. Something totally unexpected, and you have seconds to deal with it...

 

Hmmm, I'm thinking that the rim AND tire saved you from a bit of a catastrophe. Possibly a blowout on a non runflat may have led to a loss of control and that would be scary in busy traffic!
When looking at tires lately, this is one thing that comes back to me a lot, and thats the saftey of runflats. Especially with most of us running low profile tires end even more so with those that have the "rubber band" stretched around an 18" rim.

Glad no major accident in this case, but really makes me wonder...

 

Gotcha. The wheel did fail, though. That it was the result of me hitting something is, I think, made abundantly clear in my first line of text so I don't reckon as though I've tarnished ASAs reputation.

A horse . . . that would have been . . . exciting. In a very bad way.

 

How is your strut tower?
I would hope my rim and tire would take the worst of a hit and leave my struts intact!
Your situation is scaring me away from lightweight wheels .